"The Glass Menagerie"

Paper Summary:

The paper analyzes the relationship between Amanda and Laura in "The Glass Menagerie" and highlights how gender is an important factor because the issue is all about being a woman. The paper then shows how gender is a major aspect in how Tom and Laura are both prisoners of the mirror. The paper examines the dynamic of Laura living in a delicate balance between her mother's desires and her own while she is also trapped in the mirror of Jim's judgment and notes how gender is not an important feature in these dynamics. Finally, the paper illustrates the gender issue of Tom who lives under the pressures of society to be a man and provide for his family.

From the Paper:

"In the case of Amanda and Laura in "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams, gender is an important factor because as Levy maintains, Amanda "exploits her maternal concern about Laura's lack of marital prospects as a means of identifying with her own past" (Levy). Amanda is more capable of this because she is a woman and has a past. She has something from which she can draw and, hence, force upon Laura. She projects herself onto Laura and wishes to live vicariously through her. Levy is correct in stating that Amanda uses others to reflect her own self-image. All she has is her past and her daughter and she wishes to not only live through Laura but also cast her past life onto Laura. With this in consideration, gender is significant because the issue is all about being a woman."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Levy, Eric. '"Through Soundproof Glass': The Prison of Self-Consciousness." GALE Resource Database. www.infotrac. galegroup .com Site Accessed March 13, 2008.
• Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Kennedy, Gioia, eds. New York: Longman. 1985. pp. 1710-1759.

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